Cracking the Magikarp Code Read online

  He finally gave up and sat back on a rock, watching the boats bob on the water and the fishermen casting lines from the bridge above. He saw kids running around the lake with their phones out, too. They were Pokémon hunting like Carlo.

  When Mystic tugged at the leash again, Ethan sighed. “What?” he asked. “What’s so freaking exciting?”

  That’s when he saw the dead worm on the nearby rock. Mystic’s nose was twitching toward it as if she smelled a turkey dinner.

  “Ew!” said Ethan. “No! You get into the grossest things. How am I going to teach you not to go after dead fish and slimy worms?”

  Mystic wagged her tail and kissed his hand. Ethan tried not to think about everything that had been in her mouth today. Instead, he returned the kiss—on the top of her head.

  Then she barked toward the boat.

  When Ethan glanced up, he saw Dad standing in the boat. What does he see? Is it the big one? Ethan wondered.

  No, Dad was looking down at something in his hand. His phone. Was he playing Pokémon GO?

  As he took a step toward the front of the boat, he stumbled over an oar.

  Ethan watched in horror as Dad tumbled over the edge of the boat and plunged into the lake below.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Was it the big one, Dad?” Ethan asked. He tried not to smile as Dad wrung out his T-shirt and hung it over tree branch.

  “Yes,” said Dad. “At least, that’s what we’re going to tell your mother. It was the biggest fish I’ve ever seen.”

  “Or the cutest little Horsea,” said Devin, giggling.

  “You fell overboard trying to capture a Horsea?” asked Ethan. “I was hoping it was something tough, like a Gyarados.”

  “One of those dragonlike Pokémon?” asked Devin. “Nope. Just a Horsea. Dad got bored when he couldn’t find the big fish, so he started going after the little Pokémon.”

  “And I think he wrecked his phone,” said Gianna.

  Ethan watched his Dad shake the phone and then hold it to his ear, as if he hoped to hear it ticking, like a watch.

  “Now two of us are without phones,” said Gianna. She seemed pretty disappointed about that.

  “How did Mystic behave?” asked Devin, changing the subject, as usual.

  At the sound of her name, the puppy raced toward Devin and licked her ankle.

  Ethan shrugged. “She was trying to eat a dead worm. We really have to teach her not to go after certain things—for her own good.”

  As he watched Dad drain the water out of his shoe, he thought, And we’re going to have to teach Dad not to go after certain things, too. At least while he’s in a boat!

  “So we were wrong about the Magikarp Code,” Gianna announced. “Three fish on the map does not equal lots of big fish in the area. That stinks.”

  “Right,” said Ethan. “But this Diglett chocolate cake pop? This definitely does not stink.” He slid the cake pop off the stick and ate it in one bite. Then he settled back into the bench. “I’ve missed Dottie’s Doughnuts.”

  “It’s not a Diglett. It’s a Dugtrio,” said Devin. “We got three of them for the price of two, remember? Good thing Carlo had to work, or we would have been one cake pop short.” She licked chocolate frosting off her fingers before Mystic could do it for her. Then she gently tapped the whining puppy’s nose. “No, Misty. Chocolate isn’t good for dogs.”

  Ethan peered through the glass window into the doughnut shop, wondering what he should have next. A Clefairy with pink frosting and whipped cream filling? Or his favorite—the Mankey with banana cream filling? Dottie sure got creative when it came to making doughnuts!

  As if she read his mind, Dottie hurried out the front door. “How are my favorite Team Mystic players today?” she asked. “I’ve missed your faces around here!” She held a bowl of water in her hand, which she set down on the sidewalk for Mystic. “I wish I could invite you inside, but puppies aren’t allowed in bakeries. Health code rules.”

  Devin smiled as she slid the water bowl closer to Mystic. “We understand,” she said. “Mystic still smells a little bit like Magikarp, anyway. It wouldn’t be good for business.”

  Dottie cocked her head, setting her gold earrings jingling. “A magic harp? What on earth is that?”

  Devin started laughing so hard that she couldn’t explain.

  “It’s a Magi-karp,” said Ethan, emphasizing the second part of the word. “It’s a fishlike Pokémon. Mystic rolls in dead fish when we go to the lake. She likes worms, too.” He made a face.

  “Hmm,” said Dottie, tapping her chin. “That gives this baker an idea. How about if my next Pokémon concoction is a Magikarp doughnut? Picture it now: a gummy tail, candy eyes …”

  “No,” said Devin, scrunching up her freckled nose. “No, no, no. Gross. I’m sorry, Dottie, but that’s a bad idea.”

  But Mystic wagged her tail and licked her chops.

  Dottie laughed. “I think that furry teddy bear of yours disagrees. Maybe I should open up a second shop and call it Dottie’s Doggie Doughnuts.” She winked at the kids before disappearing back into the shop.

  “I think she’s kidding, but that’s actually a pretty good idea!” said Ethan. “I wish I had as many good ideas as Dottie when it came to cracking the Magikarp Code.”

  “Speaking of that, do you have the map with you?” asked Gianna. “I want to study the code again.”

  Ethan slid the map out of the lower pocket of his shorts and handed it to her, holding it up high so that Mystic couldn’t reach it with her sharp little teeth.

  “Why do you call it the Magikarp Code, anyway?” asked Devin. “We didn’t catch any carp when we were using it.”

  Ethan shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess because the fish symbols look like they’re lying on their sides, like a Magikarp.”

  Devin leaned over the map. “You’re right!” she said. “But they’re a lot less floppy.”

  “Hmm …” said Gianna. “I wonder …”

  “What?” asked Ethan.

  “I wonder if you’re on to something with this Magikarp thing,” she said, sitting up straight. “What if the fish symbols on the map don’t show where real fish are? What if they show where Pokémon are hidden, instead?”

  Ethan almost shot down the idea. It was a fishing map, after all, not a Pokémon GO map.

  Then he remembered something: the image of Dad going after that Horsea in the boat, right before toppling over the edge. “It’s true!” he said, jumping up. “Dad didn’t catch the big fish in that spot by the reeds, but he did catch a Pokémon!”

  “Actually, he never did catch the Horsea,” said Devin, giggling. “But he sure tried to. It’s hard to catch a Pokémon when you’re splashing around in the lake with a soaking-wet phone.”

  “True,” said Ethan. “Speaking of Dad’s drowned phone, he should be back home any minute now with his new one. Should we ask him if we can go back to the lake? I want to test out Gia’s theory.”

  “Me, too!” said Gianna. “Maybe Carlo and I can ride our bikes there when he’s done with work. Will you bring the map?”

  “Yes!” said Ethan. “And the dog with the nose for dead fish. C’mon, Mystic. Let’s go home and see if Dad’s there.”

  Mystic was lying down by the water bowl. When Ethan patted his leg, she just yawned and wagged her tail.

  “Seriously?” said Ethan. “C’mon, Mystic, let’s go!” He tried to use a firm voice. And he started to jog down the sidewalk, hoping she’d follow. But she just rested her head on Devin’s foot, as if Ethan were the most boring thing around.

  “I’ll bring the dog,” said Devin, laughing. She stood up, and Mystic instantly sprang to attention. Her little ears perked up, and she cocked her head at Devin as if to say, “Where to now, boss?”

  Whatever, thought Ethan, swallowing his jealousy. I don’t need a dog to catch Pokémon—not with a coded map in my pocket.

  He patted that pocket and started walking toward home. He could hardly wait to get back
to the lake and start searching!

  CHAPTER 6

  As Dad arranged his fishing pole and tackle box just the way he liked them under the willow tree, Ethan stared at Dad’s phone. He could barely see it, because it was safely sealed in a thick plastic bag.

  “So your new phone is safe from the water now,” said Ethan. “But how do you use it? What if you get an emergency phone call?”

  Dad fiddled with the zipper seal on the bag. “Well then I just unzip it, like this.” He tugged on the zipper, but it wouldn’t budge.

  Finally he used his teeth to open the protective plastic bag. “See? Presto.” Dad tried to act excited, but Ethan could tell he was pretty bummed.

  No more Pokémon GO playing at the lake for Dad, he thought. But it’s time for Devin and me to get started!

  When he saw two bikes heading across the parking lot, he nudged his sister. “Gia and Carlo are here. Let’s go!”

  Mystic raced toward the bikes, barking happily. She seemed used to Gianna and Carlo now—they weren’t strangers to her anymore.

  “Hey, little lion,” said Gianna as she pulled her bike into a rack. She leaned over to scratch Mystic’s orange “mane.”

  “Little Lion—I like that!” said Devin. “That’s what we’ll call you today. You’re my little lioness.” She crouched beside Mystic, who licked her face.

  Ethan stuck his fingers in his ears. La, la, la, la, la … Until Carlo said something. “What’s that?” asked Ethan, removing his fingers.

  “I asked if you have the map,” said Carlo. “Gianna said we were going to use it to hunt for Pokémon today.”

  “Yes! Right here.” Ethan slid it out and unfolded it carefully, hoping the coded pieces of paper would stick to the map and not to each other.

  They spread it out on a patch of flat grass. “Okay,” said Carlo, “so we have three fish by the reeds, where your dad fell in. We know he spotted at least a Horsea there. And there are three fish over here, too, by the boat launch. And another three by the dogs’ swimming area, way over there.” He pointed past the beach, toward the long pier.

  “Let’s look by the boats first,” said Gianna. “I have a good feeling about that spot.”

  Devin had her phone out—she was armed and ready. But as soon as Mystic started tugging on the leash, she handed her phone to Gianna. “You search first,” she said. “I’ve got my hands full already.”

  Ethan almost offered to take the dog from her. But why bother? he thought. Mystic doesn’t listen to me anyway.

  As they hurried toward the boat launch, he kept his eye on the tracking feature in the lower corner of his phone. “If we’re right about this, we’ll start seeing Pokémon any minute now,” he said.

  C’mon!

  Come out, come out, wherever you are!

  But his tracking box stayed empty. By the time they were standing next to the rack of rental canoes and kayaks, the only thing showing up in Ethan’s box was a Weedle.

  “Go away, Larry,” he muttered. Then he shook his head. “Something’s not right. Let’s try the other three-fish spots.”

  Mystic led the way, jogging toward the dogs' swimming area.

  “Keep a hold of her,” he warned Devin. “If she sees a tennis ball, she’s going to go nuts.”

  “I will,” said Devin. “She listens to me, remember?”

  Ethan’s cheeks burned. What Devin said was true. But did she have to point it out in front of everybody?

  Focus on the Magikarp Code, he reminded himself.

  The three fish on the map were near the end of the long pier in the dogs’ swimming area. As they got closer, Ethan could see that there weren’t any dogs in the water today. That was a good thing—maybe Mystic wouldn’t go nuts this time and try to break free.

  He followed Gianna and Carlo all the way out to the end of the pier.

  “Hang on to your phone,” said Gianna. “You don’t want to have to carry around one of those ziplock phone-baggy things like your dad.”

  She grinned at him, but Ethan couldn’t smile back. Because the tracking feature on his phone was empty. Totally empty.

  “Where are all the Pokémon?” he asked.

  “There aren’t any,” Carlo confirmed. “None. Zilch. Nada.” He leaned against the post at the end of the pier.

  Gianna sighed. “I guess I was wrong,” she said. “I hate it when that happens.”

  “It’s okay,” said Devin. “The boys were wrong about the code, too, when they thought it showed where all the big fish were.”

  Ethan glared back at her, ready to argue. Why did she have to point out everything he did wrong today?

  But before he could snap at her, Mystic started yapping at something. Two Labrador Retrievers were racing toward the water. And just like before, they were fighting over a muddy tennis ball.

  “Grab Mystic!” Ethan said to Devin.

  She had a hold of the dog’s leash, but Mystic caught sight of that ball and immediately took Devin for a quick and jerky jog down the pier.

  When Mystic reached the Chocolate Lab, she stood up on her hind legs and snatched the tennis ball—right out of his mouth! Or she tried to, anyway. It was too big for her own mouth and bounced onto the ground below.

  “Mystic,” said Devin, scolding her. “That was naughty. That ball isn’t yours.”

  The Chocolate Lab seemed to agree. He scooped up the ball in his own, much bigger, mouth. Then he backed away from Mystic, growling. Ethan couldn’t tell if he was challenging her to a friendly game of tug-of-war or warning her to stay away.

  “C’mon, Snickers,” called a boy jogging down the trail toward the water. “Bring it to me.” It was the same kid they had seen their first day at the lake.

  The one who was kind of annoyed with Mystic, Ethan remembered.

  He watched as the dog brought the tennis ball to the boy and dropped it at his feet.

  “What a good dog!” said Devin. “I wish we could train Misty to do that.”

  “We forgot to bring her tennis ball with us, again,” said Ethan, slapping his forehead. “We were going to do that, remember?”

  But as they left the pier and walked past the boy and his retriever, Ethan had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

  Why bother with the ball? I'm never going to be able to train my dog to retrieve it, he thought. Devin might be able to. But I won’t.

  He trudged behind Carlo and Gianna, all the way back to the Badfish Creek Bridge.

  “So we were wrong about the Magikarp Code,” Carlo recapped as they walked. “And it looks like we were wrong about the Magikarp Kid, too.” He stared at his phone. “That trainer is back, and stronger than ever.”

  “What?!” Ethan pulled out his phone. Sure enough, the Badfish Creek Bridge gym was Team-Instinct yellow again. “But how?”

  “He’s got a friend with him this time,” said Carlo. “A Defender named Sandstorm with a Kingler. And take a look at what Magikarp Kid is fighting with.”

  Ethan looked for the Magikarp. But the Magikarp Kid wasn’t using that carplike Pokémon anymore. He had upgraded. He was battling with a Gyarados now.

  “No way,” said Ethan, staring at the blue, dragonlike Pokémon spinning at the top of the gym. It looked fierce. “Did he evolve a Magikarp?”

  Devin shook her head. “That takes like four hundred Magikarp Candy. Nobody could ever catch that many!”

  Carlo shrugged. “Maybe someone who lives around here could. Or the kid caught it in the wild, or hatched it from an egg. I’m not sure. But I don’t know if I can fight that Pokémon and win. We’re going to have to think about what types of Pokémon are strongest against it.”

  Ethan tried to think. “Gyarados is a Water-type Pokémon, right?”

  Carlo nodded. “But it’s a Flying type, too. Grass- and Electric-type Pokémon are effective against Water types. And Electric types are also really effective against Flying types, so … we should check our Pokédexes for Electric-type Pokémon. My Jolteon, Sparky, would be a good choice.”<
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  Devin sucked in her breath. “How do you know all that, Carlo—about the types?”

  He shrugged. “Just practice, I guess. The more you fight, the more you’ll remember.” Then he grinned and said what he often said. “Stick with me, kids.”

  Ethan scrolled through his Pokémon, searching for an Electric type with high Combat Power. All he had was a Voltorb, but it would have to do. He added it to his five toughest Pokémon and crossed his fingers that it would drain the gym of at least a few prestige points.

  Gianna had a Pikachu she was able to power up, so Devin let Gianna use her phone for the battle while she hung on to Mystic.

  And then the battle was on.

  Ethan’s Meowth was up first against Kingler, the crablike Pokémon. “Ready, set, go!” Ethan whispered. He dodged Kingler’s first attack and then started tapping the screen as fast as he could. Then his fingers slipped, and the phone nearly jumped out of his hand.

  “Oops!” Ethan's Meowth was down before it could even perform its Body Slam.

  “C’mon, Vaporeon,” said Ethan, readying his next Pokémon for battle. He held the phone firmly in his hand this time and tapped until his finger started to hurt. “Water Pulse!” he ordered.

  Vaporeon listened much better than Mystic. Kingler took the hit, but came back with its claws snapping. It performed a Water Pulse, too. Ethan tried to dodge, but he was too late.

  “Ouch. I did not see that coming,” Ethan said under his breath. He’d forgotten that Kingler was a Water-type Pokémon, too—with higher Combat Power than Vaporeon.

  By the time Kingler delivered its Metal Claw attack, Vaporeon’s health bar was in the red.

  Poof!

  Vaporeon disappeared.

  So did Poliwhirl a moment later.

  And Kakuna.

  When Voltorb took the ready position, Ethan was sweating. “C’mon, Voltorb,” he whispered. “You’re my last hope!” The Pokémon looked like a wobbly Poké Ball, shaking with anger and the excitement of battle.

  “Get that Kingler!” shouted Ethan, his fingers tapping the phone so hard he could barely see the vibrating screen.

  He heard Devin scolding Mystic next to him, but he tried to stay focused.